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Why people are overweight in America
Considering that I've talked about one major cultural problem recently, let's talk about another one. Many people outside of the United States probably don't know about the standardized testing problem, but most seem to know about this one. It's one of the stereotypes that Americans are overweight, and according to statistics over one third of Americans are. This doesn't mean one third of Americans are morbidly obese. To figure out if you're overweight, you use this formula: 52 kg + 1.9 kg per inch over 5 feet (man) 49 kg + 1.7 kg per inch over 5 feet (woman) It's a serious problem, and the problem doesn't seem to be getting better. In fact, it's getting a lot worse. Let's start with the obvious: Most people know that being overweight is unhealthy. You're deluding yourself if you're not. Overweight people do know this, and incessantly telling them this doesn't really... help the problem. Most people also know that the way to hit your ideal healthy weight is correct diet and exercise. This is... a lot easier said than done. And no, that's not a willpower thing. In this country it's sometimes logically or financially difficult to do either of these things. And our education about nutrition (if you were lucky enough to get any at all) can be... awful. So, let's talk about a few problems that Americans face in eating right and exercising. Problem 1: Unhealthy food is inexpensive Let me put it this way: in the United States, bottled water is more expensive than soda pop (fizzy drink/cola/carbonated beverage). Every college kid feasts on ramen, twice a day... because it's really inexpensive. You can get like a box of 20 for around 5 bucks. It's easy to cook and it tastes... okay? It can be like a jackhammer on your insides, but it gets the job done. A package of ramen has 2 servings. Each serving gives 33% of your daily needed sodium intake. College kids eat this shit twice a day, and get 133% of their recommended (not needed) sodium intake, five days a week. Now, sodium doesn't exactly... make you fat. What it does is clog your arteries, beat up your kidneys, lead to heart disease and stroke. There's a fast food restaurant on every corner and they almost always have a dollar store menu. And yes, it's for these reasons that most of the overweight people in the country are poor. This actually does confuse some people. In history at least, the fatter you were, it meant you were richer (for obvious reasons). But, when you've got parents that either feed their child at McDonalds' or... let them starve because they don't have money to buy anything else, most parents would rather have their kids overweight than starving to death. Problem 2: Real Restaurant Portions This is a simple one, and any traveler to America knows this. If you order something in a real (not fast-food) restaurant, the portion sizes are enormous. If you want to eat healthy, anything you order in your typical diner is enough for three separate meals, no less. People outside the country may think I'm exaggerating. But I'm not. Most restaurants are nice enough to let us know which foods are... more healthy? But the portion sizes usually makes it all irrelevant. If you eat a thousand pounds of broccoli every day, you're still going to become overweight or... you know, die. Problem 3: Hidden Sugars Did you know that in America white bread contains both high-fructose corn syrup and other sugars? I didn't. Most Americans don't know that either. Ask anyone who has traveled to America and they'll say that our bread literally tastes like cakes. Yeah, it's on the ingredient list for the bread... but who looks at the ingredient list for bread? Most people just assume that it's made by combining flour and water. Not all of these other chemicals. Also, our school system tells us that we need 12 servings of bread and grains each day. So much American food contains sugar where it's not necessary. Things like ketchup, chocolate (cocoa beans are naturally sweet and don't need sugar), salad dressings, granola bars, yogurt (touted as health food here), fruit juice, and canned fruit. Also, even for the astute label readers, sugars can be called any number of things, from high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, maltose, lactose, or corn sweetener. Remember, if the word ends in "ose," like in "glucose"--it's chemically a sugar. (Glucose itself is a bit different, because chemistry). Problem 4: Produce tastes like shit I know the stereotype that "vegetables taste terrible" and the people who are too stubborn to eat shit-tasting food don't have willpower or whatever. The problem is that our produce in America tastes worst than it should. I'm not talking about improper farming or pesticides or whatever. America is a big country and to get produce across it, you've got to pick it before it's ripe. This will allow it to last until it gets to its destination, but it will also ruin any of its flavors. Sure, you can buy canned fruit... loaded with sugar. Or you can buy dried fruit... loaded with more sugar. "Farm fresh" foods, where you buy directly off of a farm have a noticeable difference in taste. Unless you live in Florida, your oranges aren't going to taste as good as they could. Unless you live in Georgia, your peaches aren't going to taste as good as they could. Unless you live in Idaho, your potatoes aren't going to taste as good as they could. And unless you live in Mass... no wait, cranberries taste like shit no matter how they're picked. So they get loaded with sugar. I know that this happens with international commerce, but most countries get most of their food internally. And most countries are smaller, so far less preservation and preservatives are required to get food on store shelves for more than like... a day. Problem 5: False Advertising I remember back in the 2000's. It wasn't illegal for a company to make a bunch of commercials saying that corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup was healthy... because it was made with corn. Yes, and because cakes are made with eggs... that makes them unhealthy. Bottom line is that it's counter-productive for companies to let people know the kind of shit they put in our food. Most people do care about what they put in their bodies. A lot of people know how to read labels, so they make them as difficult to read as possible. I have a bag of Reese's Pieces. It's clearly for one person. Servings per container: 4.5. So, within the bag, the 21g grams of sugar gets multiplied to 94.5 grams of sugar within the entire bag. Let me put this in perspective: men are supposed to have no more than 37.5 grams of sugar in their diet in one day. Women are supposed to have no more than 25 grams of sugar in their diet. I was able to buy something with more than twice the daily recommendation for under two dollars. No packaging is required to add a percentage of your daily recommended sugar levels on any package. Maybe it's biased because this is candy. Maybe this is supposed to be for more than one person. I can of Pepsi has 41 grams of sugar in it. Oh yeah, and that's another thing: almost every establishment for entertainment or eating serves soft drinks, all incredibly sugary. (Even though restaurant soda is different than canned soda). Remember, this is less expensive than water. Also, there are plenty of trends that either do nothing to help, like gluten free (unless you suffer from a specific condition) to fat-free, which makes things worse. Fat-free foods remove fats that don't cause to get fat for sugars, which do cause you to get fat. Problem 6: Walking everywhere is not an option In some countries everything is close together. You can walk right down to a grocery store and pick up a liter (or a bag) of milk. Unless you live in a big city in America (which most of us don't), that's not physically an option. Also, those bigger cities tend to have bigger rates of crime, so walking in cities where everything is closer isn't... the ideal option. Most things in America are built with car-distance in mind. If some people tried walking to school every morning, they'd end up like an hour late, which is especially true for rural areas. If people go on walks or jogs, it's not to accomplish going to any destination. If you're lucky, there's one destination within walking distance. The problem with that is most people don't have time to add exercise to their schedule. At least, not with out a lot of prodding. Problem 7: Nutrition Education isn't Excellent I know how to read a food label. I'm not sure how many people around here actually do. If you learn about nutrition, it's in an all-encompassing health class, which primarily focuses on sex ed (which may or may not be abstinence only education). Many people think that fats make you fat. They don't. Sugars make you fat. And sugar is in every-fucking-thing. If you've gotten fat from eating fats, that's because you've eaten excessive calories. The back of the nutrition facts says that calories are based on a 2000 calorie diet. This describes... not everyone. Especially not children, adolescents, and pregnant women. Most of what I've written in this was not taught, and like I said, some people certainly aren't making learning it on your own easy. Would you look at that, one container of Powerade contains more sugar than my daily recommendation. One serving contains 21g of sugar. The Pepsi contains 41g. The Pepsi is one serving, and the Powerade is 2.5. So... the Powerade, contains 52.5 grams of sugar. The Powerade has more sugar than the Pepsi. However, the Powerade has other nutrients like Vitamin B12, which are needed for the body. One of the healthiest things you can buy on a budget is a can of tuna. You should not eat more than 3 cans of this per week, or you could end up suffering from mercury toxicity. And yeah, it's a lot of math to figure out how much of anything you can have and how much of anything is too much. Even the best of us won't be able to balance it out correctly. Think of calories like money. You can spend it on these types of food. You need to get a certain number of proteins, fats, vitamins etc before you're out of that money. Counting calories alone, which is what most people seem to do, is not enough. Remember that number before though, because it's a pretty big chance that you were not taught. Men: 37.5 grams of sugar per day. This is nine teaspoons. Women: 25 grams of sugar per day. This is six teaspoons. And yes, these are averages. Different bodies do have different needs, but it's best to assume average when we're talking about nutrition. Or you know, talk to your doctor. Problem 8: Most Americans don't know how to cook Let's just put this out there: instant food, of any kind, is always terrible for you. If you want to be healthy, you're going to have to work for it. Yes, with the dieting and exercise, but you're also going to need to learn how to cook. I've met people who don't know what a colander is. With fast food and restaurants everywhere, take out ordering, and cheap instant foods, no one seems to be able to cook. Cooking is the easiest way to avoid hidden sugars. You have the most control over your own dietary needs and score. And when I say "cook" I don't mean heating up some Campbell's soup or ramen on the stovetop. Campbell's soup also has hidden sugars, by the way. Cooking right can bring even lifeless produce to life. Vegetables almost always taste better cooked (not burnt). Even if you used all the creams and butters to cook pasta on your own, it would be better for you than instant pasta. (Don't use all of the creams and butters when you cook pasta on your own). The easiest thing to cook on your own would probably be spaghetti, although you might have to make your own sauce if you want to do this healthily. Cooking isn't that much harder than following a recipe, knowing what everything is called, and following proper safety protocol (use different cutting boards for veggies and meat). Recipes can easily be found online. A colander is the technical term for a pasta strainer by the way. It's the plastic/metal bowl with all of the holes in it. And that's all I got. But yeah, that's why obesity is a problem in the United States. Healthy food is expensive and inconvenient, and the companies try to keep even health conscious people in the dark. Maybe I should do other topics related to a journal I wrote awhile back, 10 Things You Need to Know for Adult Life.